This is so so good! These carnitas are fork tender, with the perfect amount of crunch. My big Christmas present this year (thanks, husband!) was a classic round Le Crueset dutch oven. Honestly, I don't know how I've been cooking without one all of these years. I love how I can brown something without grease spattering all over the stovetop (because I do have an issue with that). And if needed, I can easily transfer my dish to the oven. Another advantage is that food cooks really evenly in a dutch oven. It's so versatile and an all-around awesome addition... Continue reading

It was such a fun week in the world of cookbook writing! The Paleo Slow Cooker was featured in 3 places this week. Also, check out the below links to get 3 free recipes from my cookbook. My very first book review was featured on Chris Kresser's site. Which by the way is one of the top 25 visited health sites in the world. It's so rad to see so many people educating themselves and taking charge of their health. I got to write a Valentine's Day guest post for one of my favorite paleo blogs, Paleo Parents! My publisher,... Continue reading

I recently finished reading Living Paleo for Dummies by Dr. Kellyann Petrucci and Melissa Joulawan of The Clohtes Make the Girl. I had actually received the copy to review well over a month ago, but it took me so long to get to writing because I read this book cover to cover. I am a terrible skimmer, which was the reason why I was always so behind on my homework in college. I am afraid that if I skim, I might miss something really important. Plus, this book was a great read and I was enjoying reading it! So, why... Continue reading

I rarely go to Trader Joe's, maybe once a month to stock up on Kerrygold Butter (tip: it's close to $1 cheaper there than other stores), organic frozen berries & tequila (sometimes). Of course, I am always tempted with the loads of chocolate near the check out. I noticed this one - organic & with no soy lecithin, which you don't often see. I was really excited to try it, but I should have known better than to think "salt & pepper" chocolate would be good. I don't recommend this for dessert, but it did make a killer mole! I... Continue reading

I am going to be completely honest here, when I first started experimenting with the SousVide a few weeks ago, I wasn't into it. I wasn't producing the deliciously juicy steaks that I had been looking at all over the intrawebs. But, I quickly learned that this was just user error. I wasn't cooking my meat long enough or low enough. Once I sorted this out, everything I made turned out incredible! I have now added the SousVide to my Sunday prep day. It works out perfect, I throw something in the slow cooker, I make carnitas in the LeCrueset... Continue reading

Those of you that read my blog regularly, can clearly tell that I didn't take the above photo - it's well beyond my amateur photography skills. For this post, Rubies & Radishes teamed up with the lovely, Lindsey Eltinge. I developed & tested the recipe & once I was happy with the flavors, I sent it over to Lindsey who cooked it & shot it. I am thrilled with the results! Thank you, Lindsey! Lindsey Eltinge is a professional food photographer. Her work was featured this week on HSN for a cookbook she photographed. Along with cookbook photography, Lindsey photographs... Continue reading

<<<GIVEAWAY CLOSED>>> Hi All! This is the first in a series of monthly parenting related posts. I hope you enjoy it! While I was pregnant, I started researching first foods. I learned some great stuff from Chris Kresser's Healthy Baby Code and articles on the WAPF site. Then, in my 8th month of pregnancy, I received an email from Kelly Genzlinger asking if I would like a copy of her new book, Super Nutrition for Babies that she co-wrote with Katherine Erlich, MD. This book was a godsend for me. Although I had already been reading up on first foods,... Continue reading

<<<GIVEAWAY CLOSED>>> I have some crazy, jaw-dropping news that I want to share with you all! The first run of my cookbook is SOLD OUT! Yes, sold out! I am besides myself with joy & gratitude. The 2nd & 3rd runs have already been scheduled! I can't believe I just wrote that. Seriously?!? So, if you didn't get your pre-order in yet, hurry over to Amazon and order it now, so you can get in on the next run. I want to give a HUGE thank you to all of you for reading my blog & helping make this happen!... Continue reading

<<<SALE + GIVEAWAY CLOSED>>> I am loving nerding out on all of these ebooks. If I didn't have an adorable (see proof below) little to tend to, I could have seriously read all day today. Between spending time with Indy & cooking up some recipes from the ebooks, I only had time to read a few more. Seriously, this is such a crazy good deal. 33 ebooks, with a value of $479 for $39! If you are a nerd like me, that is some cheap entertainment! <<<my most favorite recent photo of Indy. it captures her goofy personality perfectly. 6... Continue reading

<<<SALE CLOSED>>> Todd of Primal Toad is always coming up with great ways to help educate people & motivate them to make healthier choices. This is one of the best offers he has come up with yet. Twenty-five authors in the paleo community, including Todd himself, have contributed their ebooks to the Toadally Primal Wellness Bundle. This is truly a killer deal!33 books for $39, that's only $1.18 per a book. This sale is running for 1 week only. The sale ends on Monday, January 14 at 11:59 PM EST. Purchasing the ebook bundle automatically qualifies you for the 2013... Continue reading

This is more like a pie-slash-cobbler. I mostly made a cobbler because I have never had luck making a good paleo pie crust, so I've just given up on that for the time being. You're also probably thinking, huh, what, persimmon cobbler? I know! Here is how the story goes... We had all of these persimmons from our CSA (just a mini plug, Live Earth Farm is SO awesome - so far this winter, we have received guavas, persimmons, berry jam, plus loads of veggies!). I mentioned to my husband that I wasn't sure what to do with all of... Continue reading

Happy New Year! Sorry for being absent for so long. I took an unintentional holiday blogging break. We spent some time with our families in gold rush country, where there's no cell phone reception. We were able to spend time together with minimal distractions. We cooked, we ate, we drank wine, we chatted and we even built a snow man! It was really nice. Indyanna had a blast of course, with 4 grandparents, 3 uncles & an aunt all fighting over playing with her. While they all fought over the baby, I made some delicious recipes that I look forward... Continue reading

Have you heard of the SousVide Paleo Recipe Showdown? This is how it works, SousVide has selected 12 Paleo bloggers for the challenge, including Rubies & Radishes! We will each be mailed a SousVide Supreme (to borrow) and a vacuum sealer (to keep- yay!) + 8 steaks from TX Bar Organics. We have until January 17th to create an original Paleo recipe. The winner will win an awesome prize pack, including a SousVide Supreme! I am not going to lie, I am totally nervous... I've never used a SousVide before. It seems a bit intimidating. It's a water oven. How... Continue reading

I am overwhelmed with the kind facebook comments and support that I received over the last couple of days regarding the final version of my cookbook cover. I feel so grateful to have such awesome family, friends & blog readers! Such a HUGE thank you to all of you for reading my blog, trying my recipes & pre-ordering my book. I am beyond appreciative! I took the first call with my publisher last December (on the 9th, to be exact), while riding the train from Orange County to San Diego to spend the weekend with some of my best GFs.... Continue reading

It was the end of a verrrrry long week at work. I was short on sleep (when I crave sugar the most). I was holding an almond joy that I found in the huge stash of candy that the engineers keep in the cupboard, thinking (more like really, really wishing), this can't be that bad, right? It's just chocolate, coconut, almonds and some sugar? Um, wrong... All I had to do was flip it over to read the long list of frankenfoods to deter myself from stuffing my face with it. CORN SYRUP; MILK CHOCOLATE ( SUGAR; COCOA BUTTER; CHOCOLATE;... Continue reading

I love & use my slow-cooker even more (is that even possible?) now that we have a baby. It is such a luxury to leave something cooking without having to worry about it, while I give Indy my full attention. And lets face it, I am not together enough to manage the baby & pay attention to the stove. Instead of burning down my house or seriously damaging my pots, I use my slow-cooker as often as possible. Last Sunday, it was all rainy here, so we made chai and filled the house with the scent of delicious spices. It... Continue reading

photo credit: etsy First off, how cute are these stockings? I kind of need to have 3. Now, that you have made the whole lifestyle shift to Paleo, and won’t be stuffing your family's stockings full of sweet treats, are you in need of some ideas? Here are all the things that would be in my dream stocking (hint-hint, husband). Cooking classes: I know that there are endless amounts of free classes & tutorials available via the internet, but have you gone to a real life cooking class? I recently had the pleasure of attending Lisa’s Counter Culture's Kombucha making... Continue reading

Yet again, a creation that is a result of me cleaning out my fridge. Which is pretty much the case every time I cook with fennel. I really like it and we are always getting fennel in our CSA box, but the husband is not a fan. So I never end up using it until it's about to be EOL (end of life). Isn't this salad so festive looking? I was thinking it would be the perfect start to a Christmas dinner. Ingredients 1 fennel bulb, sliced 1/2 cup pomegranate seeds 1 orange, peeled & chopped 1 tablespoon olive oil... Continue reading

I love walking into the market and seeing the loads of squash right now. Since the weather is so erratic lately, it's one of the few markers of fall to me. I also love how squash pretty much lasts forever (or at least for many weeks), so I am not in a fury to cook it before it goes bad. As usual, in an attempt to clear out my fridge and make room for the current week's CSA, I diced up tons of veggies and added it to this dish. It was such a great way to add a variety... Continue reading

The weather is supposed to be 65 degrees and sunny here on Thursday, plus we are barbecuing our turkey this year. I thought this might be a fun dessert for our beachy t-day! You do need an ice-cream maker for this one. I made this recipe from scratch, but you can always substitute canned pumpkin and canned coconut milk. The ice-cream came out really smooth, but not as creamy as traditional dairy ice-cream. Nonetheless, it was delicious & such a perfect holiday treat! I might try adding some coconut cream next time, to see if I can get a creamier... Continue reading

You can never go wrong pairing brussels sprouts with bacon (which is what we normally do), but I wanted to do something a little different this year. Gremolata is an Italian garnish that is typically served with Veal Osso Buco. I think it works great with many other dishes too, especially veggies. It's so bright & refreshing! It's a great compliment to both brussels sprouts & green beans. I didn't this time, but sometimes I add some diced pancetta to this dish. Ingredients: 1 lb. brussels sprouts 2 tablespoons ghee Gremolata: 1 cup flat leaf parsley 2 tablespoons pine nuts... Continue reading

It finally feels like fall. Although, I enjoyed the extra sun the last few months, it's nice to finally have some rain. Especially, since I have a list of fall type of dishes that I want to cook this weekend - stuffed acorn squash, brussels sprouts and pumpkin ice-cream (which I'll share, if it turns out good). I am really into the holiday season this year. I find myself tempted to buy cute Christmas decorations already. Is this what happens when you become a mom? You become all sappy & sentimental? For the time being, I need to stay on... Continue reading